Do All Visa Cards Come with Roadside Assistance?
Last Updated on October 6, 2023
All Visa cards come with roadside assistance. Visa offers pay-per-use roadside assistance at a set rate of $79.95 per service call on all cards.
Some cards come with complimentary roadside assistance, while others let you access roadside assistance at a cheaper per-incident rate than you would normally pay.
Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Visa’s roadside assistance program and how it works.
Key Takeaways:
- All Visa cards come with roadside assistance, but you have to pay $79.95 per service call for most services, such as towing, jump-starts, or lockouts.
- Some Visa cards offer free or discounted roadside assistance as a perk, so you should check your card documentation to see if you qualify.
- Visa’s roadside assistance is available 24/7 and covers any vehicle with wheels that weighs less than 10,000lbs, as long as it is on or near a public road.
- Visa’s roadside assistance is provided by Cross Country Motor Club (Agero), which has pre-negotiated rates with local service providers.
Yes, All Visa Cards Come with Roadside Assistance
If you have a Visa card, then you have roadside assistance. Visa offers roadside assistance on all cards – regardless of your bank, annual membership fee, or card features.
Visa’s roadside assistance isn’t free with all cards; instead, you pay a discount, a set price of $79.95 per service call. Visa negotiates discount rates with local roadside service providers. You pay a set price per call, and Visa covers the rest.
To access Visa’s roadside assistance, call 1-800-847-2869. Roadside dispatch asks for your location and what the problem is. Then, Visa dispatches a tow operator or locksmith to your location to provide assistance.
Visa’s roadside assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no membership or pre-enrollment required.
Visa provides roadside assistance through Cross Country Motor Club, which also does business under the name Agero. Agero is a corporation based in Massachusetts.
What Does Visa Roadside Assistance Cover?
Visa’s roadside assistance covers all of the following:
- Standard towing (up to 5 miles)
- Tire changing (assuming you have a good, inflated, drivable spare tire)
- Vehicle jumpstarts
- Lockout services (key replacement not covered)
- Fuel delivery up to 5 gallons (you pay extra for the fuel itself)
- Standard winching
How Much Does Visa’s Roadside Assistance Cost?
Visa’s roadside assistance is a complimentary perk of using a Visa card.
You don’t need to pay anything, pre-enroll in the program, or subscribe to anything before your emergency.
You pay a fixed rate per service call. As of 2023, that fixed rate is $79.95. You cover this amount, and Visa covers any remaining costs associated with the service call.
Depending on the service you receive, you could pay extra fees:
- If the tow driver needs to tow your vehicle more than five miles, for example, then you will pay an extra per-mile towing rate.
- If the technician needs to deliver fuel to your location, then you’ll pay for the cost of the fuel itself on top of the $79.95 set fee from Visa. That set fee covers the cost of delivering the fuel to your location, but it doesn’t cover the cost of the fuel itself.
- Visa’s $79.95 set fee covers winching within 100 feet of paved or maintained roads only.
- Visa’s roadside assistance covers “any vehicle with wheels” as long as it is classified as “light duty,” which typically means it weighs 10,000lbs or less. If your vehicle weighs 10,000lbs or more, it’s considered Medium Duty or Heavy Duty and is not covered under the program.
- Visa reserves the right to change the set fee of the service call at any time. As of 2023, Visa charges $79.95 per service call. However, they could increase this amount in the future.
- Generally, you need to be on or close to public roads to receive roadside assistance. Otherwise, roadside assistance may be unable to reach your location, or the technician may charge higher fees.
For standard roadside assistance requests, however, you’ll pay Visa’s fixed, set rate of $79.95 per service call. If it’s a standard service call, then you’ll pay no extra fees.
Some Visa Cards Have Free Roadside Assistance
All Visa cards, at a minimum, have pay-per-use roadside assistance for $79.95 per service call. However, some cards – particularly paid cards with high membership fees – offer complimentary roadside assistance with no pay-per-use fee.
If you have a higher-end Visa card or if you pay an annual membership fee, then your card could have additional perks beyond Visa’s pay-per-use roadside assistance.
Check your card documentation to verify any additional roadside assistance perks. You could have three to five complimentary service calls per year, for example, without paying anything out of pocket.
What’s the Catch?
Can you really pay $79.95 for a roadside assistance request from Visa? How can Visa afford to offer this service when you could pay $200 or more for towing, vehicle lockouts, and similar emergencies? What’s the catch with Visa’s roadside assistance?
There’s no “catch” behind Visa’s roadside assistance program. Instead, the company pre-negotiates rates with service providers across the United States, helping customers pay lower rates. You pay $79.95 for the service call, Visa covers any remaining costs (if necessary), and everyone stays happy.
Even if Visa loses money on its roadside assistance program, it gives the company an edge over the competition. Visa provides roadside assistance as a general perk of using a Visa card. It’s a complimentary service provided by Visa to members. It’s one way Visa distinguishes itself from competitors like Mastercard or Discover, which don’t offer roadside assistance to all cardholders.
Final Word
Contact 1-800-847-2869 to contact Visa’s roadside assistance hotline. It’s available 24/7/365 to all Visa cardholders and requires no previous enrollment. As long as you have an active Visa card, you can access Visa’s roadside assistance.
Visa’s roadside assistance isn’t free: you pay a fixed rate of $79.95 per incident. However, this rate is much less than you would typically pay for towing, winching, fuel delivery, vehicle lockout, vehicle jumpstarts, and other services.
To learn more about Visa’s roadside assistance program and how it works, visit Visa.com. Or call 1-800-847-2869 for immediate roadside assistance.
